Randy Moonan is a Member of the Sills Cummis & Gross Litigation Department. He represents clients in complex high-stakes litigation, including commercial and securities litigation, and in sensitive regulatory and internal investigations involving allegations of improper revenue recognition, accounting fraud, public corruption, and insider trading, among others. Mr. Moonan has a diverse client base comprising global and national financial institutions, middle market companies, as well as entrepreneurs, corporate officers, boards of directors and their committees. He has successfully litigated in state and federal courts across the country, assisted companies and boards of directors in conducting internal investigations, and represented clients in enforcement proceedings by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Justice, and numerous state attorney generals.
Mr. Moonan began his legal career at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he worked on a variety of complex litigation and regulatory investigation matters, providing him with a broad-based litigation foundation. He then moved to a securities litigation boutique, where he further honed his litigation skills representing companies in contractual disputes and investors in securities class action litigation. With his unique experience having represented both plaintiffs and defendants, Mr. Moonan is able to bring to any legal matter a comprehensive perspective informed by his understanding of opposing counsel’s thought process.
Mr. Moonan earned his J.D. from Cornell Law School, where he served as Managing Editor of the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy.
Practices
- Litigation
- Securities Litigation
- Regulatory and Administrative
- Corporate Investigations and Integrity
Representative Matters
- Successfully defended an issuer in a sanction motion, including a full evidentiary hearing, involving the propriety of certain securities disclosures in the face of a confidentiality agreement.
- Successfully defended a large national bank in connection with a consumer litigation arising from alleged identity theft, securing a dismissal, with prejudice, at the motion to dismiss phase.
- Represented a Fortune 500 Company in an internal investigation into improper revenue recognition practices and in a subsequent enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Represented a listed company in an internal investigation into allegations of improper bonus accruals.
- Represented a large national bank in connection with an SEC investigation into allegations of public corruption.
- Represented an investment management firm in an internal investigation into employee misconduct arising from misuse of company funds.
- Represented entities in receipt of third-party subpoenas, including representation of a large national bank in connection with a trial subpoena from the Department of Justice in a securities fraud trial.
- Represented underwriters in a securities class action asserting claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 arising from allegations that the issuer attempted to conceal its true financial condition.
- Represented the issuer in concurrent securities class actions in state and federal courts asserting claims under Section 11 and 12 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 arising from allegations that the issuer failed to disclose factors negatively impacting the company’s growth and business prospects.
- Represented investors in numerous securities class actions asserting claims under Section 11 and 12 of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act of 1934 arising from conduct that, when disclosed, had a detrimental impact on the company’s stock price.
- Represented high net worth individuals and affiliated entities in a fraudulent transfer proceeding brought by an SEC appointed receiver.
Court Admissions
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
Affiliations
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Board of Directors, New York Professional Advisors for Community Entrepreneurs (NYPACE)
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Member, American Bar Association
— Sub-committee Chair, Corporate Counsel Committee
Education
- J.D., Cornell Law School
- B.A., State University of New York at Albany, magna cum laude
